Shima is the eldest of four sisters born to parents from Eastern DR Congo. She lived in Burundi, Rwanda and Uganda before coming to Concord, NH then, finally Portland, ME, when she was 16. Now through her work, Shima uses everything that she learned about adapting to new cultures, to help establish the New Mainers Integration Center. The center is currently in it's formative stage but the organizers hope to welcome foot traffic early next year. Immigrants will be able to come in to the center, eventually, to receive guidance on where and how to get started in their unique process of becoming financially independent citizens. The plan is that all this will be delivered with a cultural sensitivity, and an appropriate language, in a judgment-free zone. Help will include face-to-face resource sharing regarding everything a new arrival might face: job training, resume writing, education, health care, policies, customs, literacy, laws of the land, housing, and much more. It will be an information clearinghouse with people on hand to help new arrivals access the multitude of community supports available to them.For more information you can contact Shima, the future Program Director of the New Mainers Integration Center.